Beals, who viewers last saw in 'The Chicago Code,' will appear in two episodes of the ABC drama as Sophia Conrad, "a smart, commanding and sexy CIA operative," TV Guide reports.

Beals' character has a past with Richard Castle and joins him and Beckett to search for a CIA agent who has gone rogue. The rogue agent is a key suspect in a murder case Beckett and Castle are trying to solve.

According to TV Guide, 'Boss' star Kelsey Grammer will return to '30 Rock' and reunite with Kenneth and Jenna for a scam. Grammer previously guest starred as himself in the Season 5 episode 'Reaganing.' In the Season 5 episode, the trio scammed Carvel.

The Season 6 episode will feature a bigger scam, Grammer told TV Guide. Look for the former 'Frasier' star to pants Pete (Scott Adsit).

A few weeks back, we broke the news about 'Desperate Housewives' alum Richard Burgi heading to 'Castle.' Now we've got an exclusive sneak peek at his episode, titled 'Heartbreak Hotel.'

In the episode (airs Mon., Nov. 7, 10PM ET on ABC), Castle and the guys are off to Atlantic City ... for a case, of course. But while they're having fun -- I mean, working hard -- in what Castle calls "the East coast epicenter of dancing, gambling, showgirls and sin," Beckett's got the new boss lady to deal with back at the precinct.

The new Captain ("sir," if you're going to address her directly) is still trying to get her bearings with this bunch. At first, she was all over Castle, but now it looks like she's starting to see his worth -- and has moved on to questioning Beckett's skills. "I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do without him."

We'll go ahead and bet on Beckett proving that her case-cracking skills are unparalleled, with or without Castle. Take a peek at next week's 'Castle' and tell us what you think ...

'How I Met Your Mother' (8PM ET, CBS)
The gang begins to realize their romantic partner reminds them of one of their parents. Meanwhile, Barney and Nora's planned romantic evening is ruined by a string of bad events. Wayne Brady guest-stars as Barney's brother and Frances Conroy guests as their mother.

'Hart of Dixie' (9PM ET, The CW)
Zoe discovers something shocking about the local minister (guest star Peter MacKenzie) and his wife (guest star Kerry O'Malley), causing quite a stir among the residents of Bluebell. Lemon is determined to find the funds to renovate the town's historic bridge that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, but first she is put in the extremely awkward position of having to convince Lavon to choose her proposal over so many other worthwhile submissions.

'Castle' fans are still waiting to find out who will get to play the title character's absentee father, but in the meantime, the show continues to draw great guest stars each episode (Mondays, 10PM ET on ABC).

AOL TV has just learned exclusively that a certain 'Desperate Housewives' alumnus will soon be stopping by.

Richard Burgi -- whom Wisteria Lane fans remember as Susan's (Teri Hatcher) ex Karl, the one who was engaged to Edie (Nicolette Sheridan) and then had an affair with Bree (Marcia Cross) before dying in a plane crash -- will be popping up on 'Castle' for an episode this November.

They're shooting the episode this week, but we've got early details on the episode and Burgi's role.

Note: Since this is officially "premiere week," with dozens of new and returning shows airing, I'm emphasizing the "picks" portion of the title and only spotlighting a selection of the most noteworthy offerings. For a full listing of new and returning shows and their timeslots, check out our fall premiere grid or alphabetized list to plan your schedule.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19

'Eureka' (8PM ET, SyFy) season finale
After a controversial summer which saw the renewal and subsequent surprise cancellation of the series, the show's fourth season comes to a close with a dramatic episode guest-starring Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton. A special holiday episode will air in December before 'Eureka' returns for its final season next year.

'Two and a Half Men' (9PM ET, CBS) season premiere'2 Broke Girls' (9:30PM ET, CBS) series premiere
One is a comedy I've never seen, the other is one of my favorite comedies of the fall -- guess which is which? Though I've never sat through an episode of 'Two and a Half Men' before, I can't deny that I'm curious to see how the long-running Chuck Lorre comedy will reinvent itself post-Charlie Sheen -- with the addition of Ashton Kutcher, it has the potential to be either an epic comeback, or an epic trainwreck (check out AOL TV's exclusive interview with Kutcher, Cryer and Jones here). More of a sure thing, however, is the charming '2 Broke Girls,' one of my favorite comedy pilots of the season. Centered around a bristly Brooklynite and a Park Avenue princess, the risqué comedy had me laughing out loud for the majority of the episode, which is more than can be said for a lot of the new sitcoms this year ...

Nathan Fillion gives good interview. It's just a fact, although I realize not a very surprising one.

Going into the fourth season of 'Castle' (premieres Mon., Sept. 19, 10PM ET on ABC), he's still so invested in the Castle-Beckett relationship, the storylines, the ideas for where to go next, even the guest stars. He loves 'Castle' as much as the fans do, and it shows.

I caught up with Fillion to talk all about the jaw-dropping Season 4 premiere -- after last season's shooting and the big "I love you" cliffhanger, we certainly find our favorite will they-won't they TV couple treading new ground.

Fillion dished about women, Castle's usual distraction when things get tricky with Beckett, but also the new boss ("She's so mean!") and maybe, possibly getting Castle officially deputized to do some real policing.

Then we talked about this season's 'Ghostbusters'-inspired Halloween episode, Fillion's dream scenario for Season 4 and his personal casting choice to play Castle's dad that got him all choked up just talking about it.

Warning: There are some mild spoilers from the Season 4 premiere ahead.

For my money, 'Castle' wins the award for most jaw-dropping cliffhanger of the last season. Now that it's almost back -- one more week! -- we've got an exclusive sneak peek of the Season 4 premiere to ramp up your anticipation even more.

We've seen Lanie (Tamala Jones) wheeling a seriously wounded Beckett (Stana Katic) into the ER, and Castle's (Nathan Fillion) look of utter despair in the previews. In this extended scene from the first episode back (premieres Mon., Sept. 19, 10PM ET on ABC) we also see what happens once Beckett is inside the operating room -- including who is operating on her.

Watch this clip and tell us: Are you excited to see where things pick up with Castle and Beckett once she's better? Especially after Castle's big confession? And do you think Kate will remember what Castle said to her?

Ricky Gervais made headlines -- most of them not very positive -- for making some racy jokes when he hosted the Golden Globes back in January. Critics said he'd never be invited back after skewering some of Hollywood's biggest stars and even the Hollywood Foreign Press Association behind the awards.

Now Gervais claims that NBC has asked him to return to host the awards again next year. But looks like the joke's on them now, since he's not sure he even wants to do it again.

As for his critics, Gervais had this to say at the Edinburgh International Television Festival: "Just because you are offended doesn't mean you are right. People fall into this myth that I'm a shock comedian. I've never been that. People say I crossed the line but I didn't draw the f***ing line, you did."

He still maintains that his jokes were for the show's 200 million viewers around the world, not for the 200 "most privileged people on the planet" in attendance.

Gervais isn't above turning down good offers -- he claims he also said no to hosting the Oscars ("It's a thankless task for a comedian. They don't want to hear jokes, they want to hear if they have won the most important award of their career."), and to having his own American talk show ("I have been offered it a few times. I got into this business so I didn't have to put a suit on and sit behind a desk five times a week.").

Lady Gaga is going to make little monsters out of 'The Simpsons.' The pop sensation will be stopping by Springfield in 'Lisa Goes Gaga,' EW reports.

After learning the fictional city is filled with low self-esteem, Gaga tries to cheer up Lisa with a song and a flash mob. In addition to some Lisa interaction, Gaga will have a variety of wardrobe changes and share a smooch with none other than Marge Simpson.

"I would say this is one of the coolest things I've ever done," Gaga told EW about her guest spot. "My dad's probably going to do 80 backflips when the episode comes out."

With the death of Capt. Montgomery in the 'Castle' season finale (uh, two-month late spoiler alert), the ABC cop-show-with-a-twist is getting a brand-new boss -- a woman.

According to TV Guide, former '24' star Penny Johnson Jerald will head up the 12th Precinct as Victoria Gates, whom the site describes as "a career-minded cop who spent much of her early career in Internal Affairs."

Contrary to Castle's buddy-buddy relationship with Montgomery, the writer and his detective shadow-ee, Beckett, will butt heads with the no-nonsense boss.

There are plenty of law-abiding characters on TV, but we're particularly fond of the ladies who wield badges and shout "objection!" in courtrooms to keep our airwaves safe.

With the return of 'Rizzoli & Isles' (Season 2 premieres Mon., July 11, 10PM ET on TNT) -- where stars Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander battle Boston bad guys as a detective and medical examiner team -- we salute those cops and lawyers who help maintain law and order (some of them are even on 'Law & Order') on TV.

Of course, all of the current TV cops on our list have some iconic legal ladies to thank, including 'Police Woman''s Pepper Anderson (Angie Dickinson); Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder) on 'The Shield'; and the dynamic duo of 'Cagney & Lacey' (Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly), just to name a few.